Name.com CORE API Overview

The Name.com CORE API lets you search, register, and manage domains, DNS records, WHOIS privacy, and more — all through a secure, RESTful interface.

CORE is the latest version of the Name.com API, built for resellers, and developers.

For legacy v4 integrations, view the v4 API documentation. For a summary of what’s new in CORE v1, see the Changelog

Base URLs

Environment	Base URL	Purpose
Production	https://api.name.com	Manage live domains in your production account.
Sandbox (Testing)	https://api.dev.name.com	Test and simulate actions without affecting real domains.

API Versioning

The Name.com API uses path-based versioning (e.g., core/v1/ in the endpoint URLs). Going forward, our API will be following semantic versioning on changes to the API. For details on updates, breaking changes, and deprecations, see the 📅 API Changelog.

Current version: CORE v1, released May 2025
Versioning model: Major version in the URL path (e.g., https://api.name.com/core/v1)
Previous versions: v4 is still supported and will sunset at a predetermined time in 2026 with communication in advance.

For a detailed timeline of updates, breaking changes, deprecations, and upcoming features, see our Changelog.

Key Characteristics

RESTful Endpoints: Standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).
Authentication: HTTP Basic Auth (username + API token). Sandbox requires a -test username and a sandbox token.
Secure Access: HTTPS only (port 443).
Structured Resources: APIs are organized around Domains, DNS Records, Transfers, URL Forwarding, Vanity Nameservers, and Webhook Notifications.

Environment Details

The Name.com API provides two fully separated environments for safe development and live operations:

Production Environment

Base URL: https://api.name.com
Manage real domains and billing.
Use your Name.com username and production API token.

Sandbox (Development) Environment

Base URL: https://api.dev.name.com
Safe for testing — no real charges.
Use your username with -test appended (e.g., reseller123-test) and your sandbox API token.
Preloaded testing credit available.
Domains and orders do not sync with production.
Contacts between production and Sandbox are periodicallly synced. This allows a domain registration to happen in the Sandbox environment without creating contacts in the test account.
Domain availability and pricing may differ because sandbox uses registry test systems.
There are also some TLDs that are not available in the Sandbox environment, because the registries do not offer test connections.
The 'Try It' feature within this API documentation has limited access to our development environment only.

Important: Domains must be created in sandbox before using them. For example, GET /core/v1/domains/example.com will return "Not Found" unless you register it first in the sandbox environment.

Response Format

API responses are returned in JSON format.
Fields set to default values (empty strings, false, 0) are omitted to simplify payloads.
On success (HTTP 200 OK), you receive a structured JSON response.
On error (HTTP 4xx/5xx), you receive an error JSON such as:

   {
   "message": "Permission Denied",
   "details": "Authentication Error - Account Has Two-Step Verification Enabled"
   }

Always check both the HTTP status code and the message/details fields to debug responses.

API Usage Guidelines

Path Parameters

Insert actual values where {} appears in endpoints.

Example:

GET /core/v1/domains/{domainName}/records

GET /core/v1/domains/example.org/records

HTTP Methods and Content-Type

Use the correct HTTP verb:

Method	Action
GET	Retrieve a resource
POST	Create a new resource
PUT	Update an existing resource
DELETE	Delete a resource

When sending JSON payloads (POST/PUT), always set the header: Content-Type: application/json

Pagination

For list endpoints, use the perPage and page query parameters.
The API provides Link headers for easy pagination: Link: <https://api.name.com/core/v1/domains?page=2>; rel="next"
You can use these headers to automate paging through large lists of results.

Important Note on Colon (:) in Endpoint Paths

For the following endpoints:

POST /core/v1/domains:checkAvailability
POST /core/v1/domains:search
POST /core/v1/domains:searchStream

Do not URL-encode the colon (:) in the request path.

Some HTTP clients or SDKs may automatically encode : to %3A (e.g., /v4/domains%3AcheckAvailability), which will cause the request to fail.

Always use the literal colon character : in the endpoint URL.

Rate Limits

20 requests per second
3,000 requests per hour

If you exceed the rate limit, the server responds with 429 Too Many Requests. Implement retry and backoff logic in your integration.

Common API Errors

Error	Meaning	How to Fix
Not Found	Resource not found in environment.	Make sure the domain or record exists in the correct environment.
Permission Denied (2FA enabled)	2FA-enabled accounts are not supported.	Disable Two-Factor Authentication on your account.
Invalid Argument (Bad IPv4)	Invalid or malformed input value.	Correct the input, such as providing a valid IPv4 address.
Permission Denied (Wrong env)	Mixing production/sandbox credentials.	Double-check that your API URL matches your credentials.
Unauthenticated	Authentication missing or invalid.	Fix your Basic Auth headers and verify no typos in URLs.
Permission Denied (Bad token)	Incorrect or revoked API token.	Regenerate a new API token and use it for your requests.

Next Steps

You're ready to start building!

Build your integration by exploring the latest CORE API Resources!

Accessing the Legacy v4 API

We continue to maintain the v4 API documentation for existing integrations and legacy systems. While the current documentation focuses on the latest CORE API, you can still reference the full v4 guides if your systems depend on them.

View the v4 API Documentation

Important Notes

v4 remains supported for legacy users.
All new integrations should use CORE v1.
Only CORE v1+ will receive new features.
Any v4 deprecation will be announced via the Changelog. All API access requires HTTPS and authentication with your Name.com credentials and API token.